Contents

History

As early as the 12th century in Europe, if not before, war
parties or detachments from the main body were frequently used on
raids to gather or destroy supplies. The term "partisan" was used
in the 17th century to describe the leader of a war party.
Techniques of partisan warfare were described in detail in Johann
von Ewald's Abhandlung über den kleinen Krieg (1789).[1]

The initial concept of partisan warfare was the use of troops
raised from the local population in a war zone, or in some cases
regular forces, that would operate behind enemy lines to disrupt
communications, seize posts or villages as forward operating bases,
ambush convoys, impose war taxes or contributions, raid logistical stockpiles, and
compel enemy forces to disperse and protect their base of
operations. It was this concept of partisan warfare that would
later form the basis of the "Partisan Rangers" of the American
Civil War. In that war, Confederate States Army
Partisan leaders, such as John S. Mosby, operated along the lines
described by Von Ewald (and later by both Jomini and Clausewitz). In essence, 19th
century American partisans were closer to Commando or Ranger forces raised during
World War II than
the "partisan" forces operating in occupied
Europe. Such fighter would have been legally considered
uniformed members of their country's armed forces.

It was during World War II that the current definition of
"partisan" became the dominant one—focusing on irregular forces in
opposition to an attacking or occupying power. Soviet
partisans, especially those active in Belarus,
were able to effectively harass German troops and significantly hamper their
operations in the region. As a result, Soviet authority was
re-established deep inside the German held territories. There were
even partisan kolkhozes that
were raising crops and livestock to produce food for the partisans.
The communist Yugoslav
partisans were a leading force in the liberation of their
country during the People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia.

References

^
de Jeney, L. M. [Lewis Michael]: The Partisan, or the Art of Making
War in Detachment..."translated from the French of Mr. de Jeney, by
an Officer of the Army" [Thomas Ellis]. London: 1760. from French
edition in Hag, 1757 see Mihály Lajos Jeney